

# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Sydney Ideas – Ocean imaginaries
- **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 11 Mar, 2026 at 08:30 am – Wed, 11 Mar, 2026 at 09:30 am
- **Event Description**: What stories have taken hold in the public imagination about sharks and marine animals? How does this shape attitudes and policy responses to ocean conservation?

As a nation surrounded by water, Australia’s identity is deeply connected to the ocean. Our marine environment is one of the most diverse in the world, and hosts an extraordinary array of wildlife such as fur seals, whales, dolphins, sharks, and many other species found nowhere else on earth.

While the latest wave of reports about shark bites has raised attention about public safety, it points to bigger questions about the health of the oceans and its ecosystems.

What public narratives and structures guide our understanding of animal behaviour and human interventions? How do we strike the balance of protecting both wildlife and humans, all at the same time when our ocean is changing due to climate change and a much bigger human footprint in our blue backyard?  

Join political scientist Christopher Pepin-Neff, and Australian wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta, to explore Australia’s relationship with the ocean, and protecting all forms of life, from the surface to the seafloor. Hosted by Helen Sullivan, Senior Journalist at the BBC.

Presented with Sydney Environment Institute.

DETAILS 
This event will be held in-person at the University of Sydney.

Register (free): https://bit.ly/4rdvVgO

SPEAKERS
- Chris Pepin-Neff (they/them) is an Associate Professor in Public Policy in the Discipline of Government and International Relations in the School of Social and Political Sciences. Their research interests include theories of the policy process, policy analysis, the role of emotions, moral panic agenda-setting, and comparative public policy.

Chris's work has been published in leading academic journals, including Politics &amp; Gender, Policy Studies, Australian Journal of Political Science, Australian Journal of Public Administration, the Journal of Homosexuality, Marine Policy, Conservation Letters, Human-Dimensions of Wildlife, and Scientific American.

- Dr Vanessa Pirotta is one of Australia’s most renowned wildlife scientists, pioneering innovative technologies to transform wildlife conservation across marine (whale snot drones) and terrestrial environments (AI to detect illegal wildlife trafficking). A globally recognised science communicator, she is driven by a passion for making science accessible, influential, and inclusive – earning recognition as one of the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence and Science &amp; Technology Australia’s Superstars of STEM. Her leadership has been honoured through major accolades including the NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence, an Australian Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science, and the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications.

Vanessa leads impactful, cross-generational research that empowers communities through wildlife, including the Tongan Whale Tourism Project in the Kingdom of Tonga and the creation of the Wild Sydney Harbour citizen science program collaborating with First Nations Gamay Rangers to unite Indigenous Knowledge with cutting-edge science. A celebrated author of acclaimed wildlife books for children and adults, a trusted media voice, and an invited MC for the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, Vanessa stands at the forefront of conservation, communication, and leadership—shaping how science is understood, valued, and used to protect our natural world.

- Host: Helen Sullivan is currently a Senior Journalist at the BBC. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, London Review of Books, The New York Times and The Guardian, where she reported on the international desk and wrote a column on the weird animal desk. Her nature column has been read three million times in two years. She has been shortlisted for the Bragg Prize for Science Writing three times and her work has appeared in four of the Best Australian Science Writing anthologies. In 2023, she profiled Helen Garner for The New Yorker. She is writing a memoir for Scribner Australia.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/pyrmont/sydney-ideas-ocean-imaginaries/200029780337852
- **Event Categories**: health-wellness, Art, literary-art, Nonprofit
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 0

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: https://sydneyideas.swoogo.com/oceans/register?ref=facebookevent&utm_source=AllEvents.in&utm_medium=event-discovery-platform&utm_campaign=pyrmont-events

## Event venue details

- **city**: Pyrmont
- **state**: NS
- **country**: Australia
- **location**: University of Sydney
- **lat**: -33.887784042993
- **long**: 151.1875605934
- **full address**: University of Sydney, School of Physics, Physics Rd, Camperdown NSW 2050, Australia, Pyrmont

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 2
- **organizer**: Sydney Ideas (https://allevents.in/org/sydney-ideas/1451243)

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: banner
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events10/banners/1f9b4647c35501fea234b1f914926c5db2750b29f30173fba302a7ba2a8cdcc8-rimg-w960-h1280-dc0160ea-gmir?v=1772857610
- **Alt text**: thumbnail
  - **Image URL**: https://dyn-image.allevents.in/generate-image?v=4&title=Sydney+Ideas+%E2%80%93+Ocean+imaginaries&date=11+Mar

## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Wed, 11 Mar, 2026 at 08:30 am
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** University of Sydney, School of Physics, Physics Rd, Camperdown NSW 2050, Australia, Pyrmont
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** Sydney Ideas
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
  - **A:** health-wellness, Art, literary-art, Nonprofit
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Sydney Ideas – Ocean imaginaries ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

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